Mason says he's right where he wants to be

VOORHEES, N.J. — Steve Mason signed a three-year contract extension with the Flyers Saturday, good for $12.3 million.

He was hoping for more.

“Well, we were shooting for Clayton Kershaw-type money,” Mason said, jokingly, Sunday at the Skate Zone. “But that didn’t happen.”

Kershaw is the Dodgers’ left-hander, who soon will be earning roughly $10,000 per pitch. Mason is 19-11-5 with one shutout as the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie this season, and he was yanked early from a 6-4 victory Saturday over the New York Islanders.

So the economics and fit, he will acknowledge, did make sense.

“Hockey has been very good to me,” he said. “And it has put me in this position. So I am very thankful. It is a lot of responsibility. I am just very proud to be a Philadelphia Flyer and being a part of this organization, with the sense of pride that comes along with the tradition and what the Flyers mean.

“I am very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Among the benefits of re-upping with the Flyers in January after a month of negotiations — somewhere behind the cash, presumably — is that it will limit Mason’s hockey distractions to pucks whistling in his general direction.

“I am just happy that it is out of the way and that I won’t think about it anymore,” he said. “I am really looking forward to just being here for the next number of years and trying to get this team in a position where we can make a long run and eventually realize our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”

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Defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon, recovering from chronic concussion troubles, is on his way to a return.

Paul Holmgren, in a statement: “Marc-Andre has continued his rehab the past couple of months and has improved to the point where we anticipate him being loaned to the Phantoms this week and getting back on the road to playing professional hockey games.”

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For the second time in three days Monday afternoon at 1 the Flyers will play the New York Islanders.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Mark Streit, the former Islander. “They are in a desperate mode. They need to win games — and us, as well. At this time of year, all the games are intense.”

The Flyers scored three times in the third period Saturday to win the opener of the home-and-home, 6-4.

“It was a crazy game,” Streit said. “It was up-and-down hockey, back and forth. It’s not the way you want to approach a game. So we have to play better. We can’t fall behind every game. We need a good start. I think it’s important that we play well defensively and play steady hockey.”